Magnetic storage devices, such as disc drives, are typically enclosed in housings to provide a clean, particle-free environment for internal components to operate with close spacings between moving parts. In particular, a spacing or fly height between data storage discs and disc head sliders is extremely close and requires an extremely clean environment. There is a desire to increase areal density of information storage on data storage discs and to make corresponding reductions in fly height. These increases in areal density and reductions in fly height are difficult to achieve with air in the disc drive housing, thus there is a desire to provide disc drives with helium to facilitate greater tracks per inch (tpi) for increased areal density and a reduction in fly height. It is found, however, that housing sealing methods used in disc drives are not adequate to provide containment of helium over an operating life of a disc drive, which is typically five years or more.
Disc drive housings are typically formed of light metal that can't provide adequate sealing forces to provide hermeticity with compressed O-ring seals. Vacuum tight sealing methods such as welding and soldering are difficult to implement with disc drives because the heating associated with welding or soldering can overheat heat-sensitive components in the disc drive.
A method and apparatus are needed that will provide hermetic sealing of a sealed assembly such as a disc drive without overheating heat sensitive components in the sealed assembly. Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.